Different Styles of Cloud Computing With WordPress
It’s 2019 – if you haven’t dipped your toes into the cloud, you are missing out. Since cloud computing first became a trend around the beginning of this decade, most businesses and consumers alike have found that the cloud offers better security, better speeds, better flexibility, better costs and other benefits. One of the best ways to utilize the cloud is through your website and web services, which likely includes WordPress.
Since the cloud is nothing new, WordPress works well in every cloud environment and with all major cloud computing providers. This beginner’s guide will touch on the pros and cons of different methods of cloud computing with WordPress, so you can start benefiting from the cloud.
Public Cloud
A public cloud is what you probably think of when you first imagine cloud computing, and indeed, they are the most common cloud solution in use today. Public clouds consist of shared computing resources; a third-party cloud service provider owns and manages the hardware, software and supporting infrastructure, and several “tenants” or users take advantage of those resources all at once. This means that the same servers you use to store your data are also used to store other people’s data – but it is uncommon for that data to get mixed up, lost or leaked.
Like multi-family housing, public clouds tend to be the least expensive cloud computing option. This is largely because cloud providers can use the same tools to fulfill many users’ needs. Additionally, with a public cloud, you don’t need to pay to maintain your own servers and software, which is essentially what makes clouds so attractive to businesses today.
Private Cloud
If the public cloud is like an apartment building, the private cloud is like a single-family home. A private cloud consists of computing resources used by you and you alone. Most businesses keep their private cloud in an on-site datacenter, but this requires businesses to pay additional costs in utilities and maintenance, which aren’t cheap. On the other hand, private clouds give you the opportunity to completely customize your resources, meeting your unique and specific IT requirements perfectly.
Few small or medium-sized businesses bother with private clouds, largely because of the high expense. If you desire the flexibility and security of private clouds, you might turn your attention to the last cloud computing option.
Hybrid Cloud
A hybrid cloud offers the best of both worlds: the security and flexibility of private clouds with the size and low cost of public clouds. Generally, hybrid clouds allow you to pick and choose what data and services go to your public cloud and what remains segregated in your on-site environment.
Obviously, hybrid services provide the ultimate flexibility, and it ensures that your business can easily and efficiently scale when additional cloud services are needed – even immediately, considering the growing trend of cloud bursting, or running services in the private cloud unless there is a spike in demand when resources from the public cloud can be utilized.
Additionally, you should be aware that hybrid clouds increase your cybersecurity. Not only can you keep sensitive information locked tight in your private cloud, but you can take advantage of hybrid cloud security solutions, which stretch into your public cloud to keep all data safe.
In all, hybrid clouds give you greater control over almost any aspect of cloud computing, especially price. Because you can piece together the exact cloud solutions you need, you can avoid overspending on either private or public options.
3 WordPress-ready Clouds
If you are convinced that you need to migrate your WordPress website to a cloud platform, you have a big decision ahead of you: Which platform will suit your needs best? While there are several cloud providers that function with WordPress, we’re going to touch briefly on the big three: Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services.
Google Cloud (GCP) is easily the most affordable cloud platform on this list – but in exchange for a low price, you will be receiving fewer features. Typically, GCP works best for developers as opposed to large corporations, so if you expect your business to grow big, you might look elsewhere.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides the most robust cloud solutions, which makes sense considering that it was the pioneer of cloud computing. AWS has an enormous range of products for you to assimilate into your cloud arsenal – but its diversity might be overwhelming if you are looking for a simple solution.
Microsoft Azure offers some unique features that other cloud providers sometimes neglect, like the ability to create virtual machines and environments. Azure tends to be an excellent middle-of-the-road option for businesses that don’t need all the bells and whistles of AWS but have larger computing loads than GCP.
It is well past time that you begin to explore the cloud – but the good news is that cloud solutions today are better than ever. You should be able to find exactly what you need for world-class WordPress services and so much more.